Patriots reportedly bring in WR Jordan Matthews, TE Troy Niklas for a look

Wide receiver Jordan Matthews and tight end Troy Niklas met with the Patriots in Foxborough Monday afternoon, according to ESPN.

Matthews, 25, is a 6-foot-3, 212-pounder out of Vandy who has spent four seasons in the NFL. He has 250 career receptions for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns, with his best season coming in 2015 (85 catches, 997 yards, eight TDs) with the Eagles.

As for the 25-year-old Niklas, he’s a 6-foot-7, 270-pounder who has undergone several surgeries over the course of his relatively brief NFL career. The Notre Dame prospect has struggled to stay healthy, likely one of the reasons he’s had just 19 catches in four seasons in the league (all of which have come with Arizona).

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The Patriots love plucking guys they perceive to be hidden gems off the Bills roster, and Matthews might be one of those possibilities. The other thing to keep in mind here is the fact that this might be a case of New England buying low on a guy who is coming off injury: Matthews has made no bones about the fact he feels the Eagles’ medical staff bungled issues around his knee and ankle, which he believes led to a dip in his numbers last year with the Bills. It’s unclear what sort of role he might have in the New England offense if he was added, but this certainly appears to be a classic free-agent inquiry at this stage on the calendar.

When it comes to Niklas, there are some similar elements in play. He put up really impressive college totals — he had 37 catches for 573 yards and six touchdowns in a year-plus in the Notre Dame system. (That was after playing linebacker as a freshman and switching to offense as a sophomore.) But he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy since he arrived in the NFL as a second-round pick of the Cardinals in 2014. Niklas does have one other thing going for him — he’s connected to one of Belichick’s favorite football families: His uncles are Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews and Bill Belichick favorite Clay Matthews, the former Cleveland linebacker.